Christmas Markets in Germany

 I must admit that I love Christmas. I love all the excitement leading up to it. When I lived in Germany I found that Advent, the four week period leading up to Christmas, was one of the most heart-warming seasons I had ever experienced. My local town held their Christmas market on the first weekend in Advent. The local clubs set up stalls selling mulled wine and all kinds of foods: pancakes, hot dogs, waffles. This was hugely important to the clubs in financing their various activities for the coming year. Sometimes their very existence depended on the amount of money they made. There were other stalls, of course, which sold hand crafted Christmas ornaments, knitwear, gloves, scarves.

The weather was usually cold and I remember my feet feeling like blocks of ice. Neighbours and acquaintances were to be met with strolling among the various stalls, noses red from the cold, scarves nearly up to their eyebrows. We would sometimes linger to chat near where chestnuts were being roasted in order to get some warmth from the fire.

If I close my eyes I can get the aroma of mulled wine, gingerbread and cinnamon and I can taste the rösti, hot from the pan, just the thing to warm one up. Rösti is a Swiss dish consisting mainly of potatoes and is absolutely delicious.Originally Swiss farmers in the Bern region ate rösti for breakfast but nowadays it is very popular in Europe. It is easy to make.
Here's the recipe if you'd like to try:
Grate raw potatoes very finely (allow 2 big potatoes per person roughly), sprinkle with salt, melt two generous spoonfuls of butter in a frying pan, add the grated potatoes, press together to form a fritter, and fry on both sides until golden brown. Cut into portions and serve with apple sauce. Delicious. If you like, you can top it with a slice of cheese and pop under the grill to melt.

I will be in Germany this Christmas in time for the last of the Christmas markets. And yes, I will eat rösti and have a mug or two of mulled wine. It all tastes so much nicer under a frosty German sky.